This invention relates to a fixing structure for fastening a radiator grille to an automobile body.
As means for fixing to an automobile body a radiator grille designed for radiation of heat and decoration of the front of the automobile body, it is customary to use bolts and nuts or plastic fasteners. The recent trend is toward increasing adoption of plastic fasteners which offer great handling convenience and excel in ability to absorb shocks. In general design, these plastic fasteners comprise a base plate and engaging means such as anchors or hooks formed one each on the opposite surfaces of the base plate. These plastic fasteners are interposed between the engaging openings which are formed in advance in a given radiator grille and an automobile body at suitably selected opposed positions and the fasteners' engaging means are brought into fast engagement with the openings by pressing the radiator grille against the automobile body. Such conventional plastic fasteners, however, have the disadvantage that play arises between the engaging means and the openings unless the openings formed in the radiator grille and the automobile body are exactly located relative to each other and are made exact in size. The plastic fasteners have another disadvantage in that when the radiator grille fixed to the automobile body expands or contracts as the temperature of the ambient air rises or falls, play arises between the plastic fasteners and the openings and, in an extreme case, the plastic fasteners sustain cracks under heavy stress.
Fasteners specially designed to prevent such play between the radiator grille and the automobile body have been developed. None of these fasteners, however, have been able perfectly to preclude the possible occurrence of such play in all conceivable directions.